This discussion paper examines decentralization within the formal education system in the Yangon Region and Mon State. Issues considered are the arrangements between the central government and the states for the management of education, including budgets, human resources, curriculum, policy frameworks, and overall decision-making authority. It concludes with consideration of the challenges and opportunities for further decentralization, while also highlighting some of the risks to the education system that may arise as outside funding increases.

The Myanmar government identified decentralization as a goal in the state-sponsored provision of basic education. As the second-largest ministry in the government of Myanmar, after the Ministry of Defence, decentralization in the Ministry of Education provides useful insight into the course of changes in overall governance.

This report was generously funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).